Four charges dismissed against alleged 'cult' leader

DURHAM (WTVD) -- A judge has dismissed four charges against a suspected 'cult' leader who is charged in connection with the death of a 4-year-old Durham boy and his ex-girlfriend.

Peter Moses Jr., 27, was indicted last month on murder charges in connection with 4-year-old Jadon Higganbothan and 28-year-old Antoinetta McKoy deaths.

Their remains were found buried plastic bags by a plumber working in the backyard of a home in the 2600 block of Ashe Street last month.

In addition to the murder charges, Moses was also facing charges that were filed in April, which included one count of second-degree kidnapping, one count of assault by pointing a gun, one count of assault on a female, one count of communicating threats and failure to appear in court.

However on Thursday, a judge dismissed those four charges.

Along with Moses Jr., Higganbothan's mother 25-year-old Vania Sisk, 40-year-old Lavada Quinzetta Harris and 40-year-old Larhonda Renee Smith have been indicted on murder charges in connection with McKoy's death.

Harris, Sisk and Smith have been indicted on one charge of accessory after the fact in Higganbothan's death.

Three others - 56-year-old Sheilda Evelyn Harris, 21-year-old P. Leonard Moses and 20-year-old Sheila Falisha Moses have been indicted on charges of accessory after the fact in McKoy's death.

McKoy and Higganbothan were both last seen alive last year. The Ashe Street home is located a few miles from another home on Pear Tree Lane where McKoy and Higganbothan lived with a cult group known as the "Black Hebrew Israelites."

ABC11 sources confirm the Ashe Street home was once the rental property of Moses' mother.

Higganbothan's mother was arrested in April during a raid at a Durham home, but posted bond. At that time, she was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession. Sisk told police she last saw her son in Durham on February 20, when she left him with an acquaintance.

However, the last confirmed sighting of the 5-year-old was October 2010. McKoy was also reported missing in February and was last seen in early December 2010.

According to search warrants, a search of the Pear Tree Lane property in April turned up traces of blood, a spent bullet, and shell casings.

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durham county, homicide, durham police, peter moses, local/state

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